Why do we have to hurry?
When you detect a tick attached to your dog's skin, it is absolutely necessary to remove it immediately to limit the risk of disease transmission. Indeed, the bite of a tick can be at the origin of the transmission of a significant number of serious vector-borne diseases of the dog among canine babesiosis or piroplasmosis, borreliosis (or Lyme disease), erhlichiosis, Tick-borne meningoencephalitis, tularemia, hepatozoonosis, spotty Mediterranean fever or even anaplasmosis.
The vast majority of agents responsible for vector-borne diseases transmitted by ticks are only inoculated within 24 to 48 hours after the tick has established itself.Thus, the faster we act to remove the tick, the lower the risk for your dog of contracting a disease.
To remember!
It is important to remove a tick stuck in your dog's skin even if your dog is already treated for ticks because none of these products are 100% effective in killing ticks.
Removing a tick from your dog: how to do it?
Material
To remove a tick from your dog, it is necessary to have:
- a tick hook (on sale in veterinary surgeries or pharmacies),
- a sterile compress,
- a disinfectant that doesn't sting,
- an ashtray + a box of matches OR modified alcohol,
- disposable rubber or vinyl gloves (optional).
The method
1 - Prepare all the equipment you need then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. If you have gloves, put them on afterwards.
2 - Immobilize your dog by asking him not to move. If your dog isn't very cooperative, have someone hold it for you.
3 - Release the hairs around the tick then slide the hook under the tick's body, passing from the side.
4 - Unscrew the tick by rotating the clamp on itself. It must then unhook itself, without any need to pull.
5 - Once the tick has been unhooked, remove it and check that its rostrum (mouth apparatus) has come with the body.
6 - Carefully disinfect the wound caused by the tick bite with a compress soaked in antiseptic product.
7 - Place the tick in an ashtray and burn it with a match. Once the set is turned off and cooled, put everything in the trash.
Note
If you don't have a match or lighter available to burn the tick, you can drown it in a small plug of modified alcohol.
In the days following the tick bite, monitor your dog's general condition as well as his urine. If you notice a drop in shape and/or brown urine, call your veterinarian immediately.
Removing a tick from your dog: mistakes to avoid
When removing a tick from your dog, it is necessary to:
- Never shoot the tick: the risk is then to leave the rostrum in the dog's skin, which promotes the formation of micro-abscesses at the bite site.
- Do not press the abdomen of the parasite with your fingers or with tweezers or pour a product on the tick (ether, alcohol, disinfectant, oil). By doing so, you risk causing regurgitation of the tick and the transmission of vector-borne diseases!
- Never burn the tick with a cigarette/match while it is still embedded in your dog's skin. In addition to the reflex regurgitation that this would cause in the tick, you risk very seriously burning your animal!
- Never crush the tick between your fingers after removing it: there is a risk of disease transmission through the skin!